Welcome Back Baby
by Pianoninja
Summary: Mary-Claire returns to Holby after going back to Ireland for six months. She was supposedly caring for her Mother but perhaps that isn't really the case. Completely AU but pretty cute. ONE SHOT


**Hello my Lovelies! This was just a little idea I had the other day and I've been taunting RihannonDreams with for the past 24 hours :P Anyways, hope you enjoy my randomness and apologies for any mistakes, I couldn't be arsed to read through properly.**

Mary-Claire woke up to an overly loud wail radiating through her apartment, she tossed and turn a few times, attempting to block out the noise before the sound pulled her into a full state of consciousness and she rolled unenthusiastically out of bed. She wandered through the flat in the darkness, rubbing her eyes and heading towards the source of noise.

"Hey there baby" she hushed the little boy, stroking the soft thin red hair on his head before she slipped her hands underneath him and lifted him into her arms. She moved into the kitchen slowly, watching her step with the precious bundle in her hand, then flicked both the coffee machine and bottle warmer on to satisfy both their wishes at five am.

It was almost seven o'clock when the Nanny turned up and the nurse had found herself having to multitask and get herself ready and looking like she had actually had more than a few hours' sleep in the past month. She threw the front door open, the hinges creaking loudly in protest,

"What sort of time do you call this!?" This was the first time she'd met the woman who she was paying extortionate amounts of money to look after the baby for the next few months until he was old enough for her to get him into the cresh and she was almost half an hour late. The woman just glared back at her, chewing gum with a bovine expression,

"bus was late" she grumbled rudely. This was making Mary-Claire feel even more uncomfortable about leaving the one month old in someone else's care but there was nothing she could do now, she had to be in work at eight and she was already going to be late at this rate. Either way she grabbed her nurse's uniform from the wardrobe and shoved it into her bag to get changed into at work before picking up the auburn haired baby boy from his crib and dusting his soft crown with light loving kisses and whispering softly into his hair,

"See you later Reilly sweetheart, be good." She planted one last warm kiss on his nose, falling in love with him all over again as he smiled cheekily back at her.

"Mary-Claire!" Adele shouted, catching sight of the nurse rushing through the entrance whilst the HCA was fetching coffee for 'Queen Naylor.' Mary-Claire grimaced slightly as she heard the high tones of her voice, knowing that she could keep her talking for ages and if anyone would pick up on her stress then it would be her.

"Heya Adele, I gotta run else Her Majesty Miss Campbell is going to roast me!" Adele shot her a strange look but nodded anyway and added,

"Catch up in Albie's later then" taking the lack of reply from the Irish Nurse as an agreement.

In the locker room Mary-Claire was hurrying to get ready, taking just a moment to gaze down to her stomach, at the change in her body shape, then sighed before she pulled on the blue uniform and threw her bag in the locker.

"Ahh Nurse Carter" Serena called across the ward stridently "good to see you back. How's your mother? All healed?" The nurse gave her a somewhat shifty look, looking away from her momentarily before she nodded and replied,

"Yes thank you Miss Campbell, she's doing well." Serena turned to walk away but stopped, looking back at the nurse for a moment,

"You look tired" she said concerned "not been out partying already have we?" Mary-Claire laughed inwardly '_if only_' she thought before saying,

"No, I guess I'm just tired from the journey back from home." Serena shrugged at his, seemingly buying the story and continued with her morning's rounds leaving Mary-Claire to let out a thankful sigh.

Not long after an emergency patient was rushed through the doors on a trolley and Harry Tressler rushed over shouting

"Hey MC, want to spot me on this one?" Mary-Claire stood up from her seat at the nurse's station, stifling a yawn and walked over to the cubicle. "Late night?" The junior registrar asked her with a cheeky grin on his face. The nurse simply rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue at him before rounding the bed and beginning to fit a drip into the patient's arm.

The day had been going by fairly smoothly so far, even if the ward was incredibly busy, when Mary-Claire finally got the chance to take a break for lunch. She headed into the locker room and opened her locker in search of her purse to go and hunt down the gallon of coffee she felt like she needed. She grabbed her purse and saw her phone as well which she picked up and shoved in her pocket while she re-locked the metal door and began to make her way down to the coffee shop. As she walked back across the ward she pulled the phone back out of her pocket and pressed the home button, illuminating the screen, but what she then saw made her stop suddenly in the middle of the ward.

"Everything ok Nurse Carter?" She heard the voice of Colette Sheward nearby but barely registering what she said in her mind. "Mary-Claire?" she heard the voice again, closer by and felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

"I…I need to make a call" she babbled out, almost running off the ward.

She looked at the screen again, saw the little green phone icon and the words _'Abby (Nanny) 8 Missed Calls'. _She slid her finger across the screen, redialling the number and stood nervously tapping her foot while she listened to the phone ring out and hit voicemail. She soon saw Colette coming through the double doors, heading towards her while she dialled again. As once again there was no answer she felt tears burning at her eyes and the thud of her heart racing in her chest.

"Mary-Claire? What's happened? Is it your Mum?" she asked, her voice soft with concern and a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from running away again. The young nurse threw a hand over her mouth, stifling a sob from escaping her mouth

"I'm sorry" she cried.

"Come on" Colette took her junior's hands, leading her quickly across the ward and settling the two of them down in the staffroom. "What's going on Love?" Mary-Claire took a deep breath inwards, clasping her hands tightly as she began to explain.

"When I went to Ireland…" she began slowly and carefully, "my Mum wasn't in an accident, she's fine." Colette gave the redhead a baffled look,

"Right…" she prompted hopefully.

"I didn't want to lie, I just- I just really couldn't let anybody know."

"Know what?" Colette was concerned for her nurse, something really didn't seem right with her.

"I…I had a one night stand with someone I met Albie's." Colette looked at her, still as confused as ever so she carried on, "and he got me pregnant. I was nearly 4 months when I left and um-" The older nurse looked back at her with bright eyes, completely shocked,

"Mary-Claire Carter are you telling me you took six months of to go to Ireland and have a baby?" The redhead nodded slowly, refusing to look at her

"His name's Reilly and he's just so perfect…I'm so sorry I lied though."

"Sweetheart it's fine! I just wish you'd told me, or anyone, we could've helped you." Colette ran a hand up and down her arm comfortingly just as her phone started ringing. Mary-Claire picked up the phone and looked at the ID before answering it with haste and pushing it under her hair and almost shouting,

"Abby? What the hell's going on?" She heard the droning voice on the end of the phone,

_"__uhh yeah I locked myself out the house…phoned the locksmith though and he's going to send you a bill innit." _Colette watched the young nurse's eyes fill with rage and disbelief, and her face turned a shade pinker,

"You what!?" The insensitive youth loosely apologised with,

_"__soz" _before hanging up, leaving Mary-Claire reeling. Colette gave her a questioning look to which she replied simply,

"My Nanny's a knob." Colette chuckled lightly before she offered,

"I'm on a break now, how about we pop to yours, fire the imbecile and I can meet this little Carter?" Mary-Claire nodded shyly and flashed her a smile.


End file.
